USDA has expanded its recall of Lee's meats, including this ham and cheese croissant.

Lee's is known for its inexpensive “Vietnamese-style” sandwiches. A signature baguette sandwich contains ingredients such as cold slices of head cheese, jambon (salted ham), pate, julienne carrots, onions, mayonnaise and cilantro.

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USDA has expanded its recall of Lee's meats, including this shredded pork

The amount of mislabeled meat products recalled by Lee’s Sandwiches has more than doubled, and the government is expanding its investigation of the company for possible misbranding violations dating back four years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.

The quantity of meat recalled by Lee’s Garden Grove-based processing plant, LQNN Inc., is now 220 tons – up from the original voluntary recall of 100 tons announced 10 days ago.

The USDA originally said its investigation of Lee’s encompassed one year. But a USDA spokeswoman said Friday the agency’s “best estimate” was that the suspect products dated back to May 29, 2011. “But we are still investigating,” she said.

Lee’s chief operations officer, Tom Quach, said LQNN has been working with the USDA to ensure that all recalled products are taken off the shelves and disposed of properly. He expects that process to be complete by next week.

“Although the recall of LQNN products go back several years, there has not been a single adverse reaction or incident, to our knowledge, that involved the products in question,” he told the Register Friday in a prepared statement.

LQNN has been in operation since 2010, Quach said.

During a May 19 inspection, USDA officers discovered the LQNN plant had been modifying USDA certified meats by further processing them within the plant. The final product was then erroneously given a USDA certification, and shipped off to restaurants.

The USDA said the plant could be modifying products by either cooking the USDA certified meats, or blending them with another product. Any such “further processing” is subject to an additional USDA inspection, the agency said.

The Le family started their business in the 1980s, and added an extra ‘e’ to the name of the company because they thought it would be more familiar to their American customers. It originally started as a food service company. Years later, the family launched a chain of sandwich shops known for their inexpensive Vietnamese-style sandwiches.

Nancy Luna is an award-winning journalist with more than 25 years reporting experience. She's been the Register's restaurant beat writer since 2005, covering some of the biggest players in the industry: In-N-Out, Chipotle, McDonald’s and Taco Bell. Luna also covers dining trends from food halls to food trucks. She writes with authority and is considered an expert in her field.